Middle Age Entertainers

European puppets were another medium which permitted entertainers to spread current gossip without revealing the identity of the storyteller (Speaight 16).

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The theatrical productions of the Greeks further explored the use of theater as an instructional tool.

Because the theater provided such a diverse forum for expression, stage actors and playwrights consistantly utilized this locale to eduate the general public.

Oral communication was widely used to educate society about morals and basic truths. The most highly developed theoretical discussions from ancient times were those of he Greeks, who passed on this knowledge through music and stories.

Homer, the eighth-century B.C. poet, court singer, and storyteller, embodied ideal Greek morals and heroic conduct in his spoken epic, The Iliad (Beye 1). Homer and other poets used qualities not found in written language to make the memorization of their works easier so their sagas could be repeated for generations (Edwards 1).

African tribes people and Native Americans also instilled morals and lessons to their communities through stories and fables (Edwards 1). These oral narratives were soon after recorded on paper as early forms of literature became prevalent.

Many of the thoughts previously expressed through oral communication only could now be recorded for the future as writing became wide-spread. The era of writing began with Chinese literature more than 3,500 years ago, as the Chinese recorded tales on oracle bones (Mair 1). The Greeks, however, were the first known civilization to translate their oral history into writing (Henderson 1).

While the earliest Greek literature was produced by the Indo-Europeans in 2,000 B.C., the most essential works began in Ionia with the epics of Homer in the eighth century B.C. (Henderson 7). This oral poetry is the foundation of Greek literature, and epic poetry such as Boetian�s Hesiod explored the poet�s role as a social and religious teacher (Henderson 8).

These written works clearly informed those who read them, but were not as successful in educating the masses as the Greek dramas. Any spoken works that were especially significant could now be transcribed for posterity and future use.